“Chopin has been a big influence on many of the great Brazilian jazz composers, such as Antonio Carlos Jobim,” said Kowalewski, whose Swingin’ Chopin jazz group celebrates the release of its debut CD, “Chopin Jazz,” with a live performance at Club 54 in Sterling Heights on Sunday. “Every major jazz pianist, from Bill Evans to Herbie Hancock, studied classical music. The works of Frederic Chopin are always brought up.”

Kowalewski, well known as the longtime bandleader of the award-winning Latin jazz group Brazil and Beyond, first started studying the works of Chopin two years ago for a series of concerts celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Polish composer and virtuoso pianist’s birth.

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About six months ago, Kowalewski and his Swingin’ Chopin group were booked to perform in February at the concert series hosted by the Huron Valley Council for the Arts.

“We decided to get together and do a disc and see where we could take this,” Kowalewski said.

The group — which includes jazz veterans Joe Ivers, on soprano and alto saxophones and alto flute; pianist Kurt Schreitmueller; and drummer Rob Emanuel — had multiple rehearsals and then went into Sound Shop Studio in Macomb Township to record.

They recorded the CD in one day. It helped that the musicians have a lot of history together. Kowalewski and Ivers go back to their early days at Wayne State University in the 1970s. Schreitmueller is in Brazil and Beyond, and Kowalewski and Emanuel, who is also in Brazil and Beyond, have been longtime collaborators.

“I have a lot of chemistry with Rob,” Kowalewski said. “When you work with somebody for a long time, it’s like you breathe together. It’s always a good fit.

“Joe is quite a fixture in Detroit and is in demand all over town. Kurt’s background is not only in jazz, but in classical music. He does a lot of writing for films and ad campaigns. He is quite an asset to the group and is a great pianist.”

Mixing and mastering was done by Kevin Holevar of Underground Productions, who worked with Kowalewski on the many Brazil and Beyond recordings.

“It’s pretty much a live record,” Kowalewski said. “I was very happy with that and the spontaneous things that happen with a live recording.

“Like any good blues or jazz record, that’s really what it is all about. It is a really strong disc.”

On “Chopin Jazz,” the composer’s classical melodies are performed in American jazz and Latin American styles.

His “Mazurka” is arranged in American swing. “Fantasy Impromptu” becomes a Brazilian samba, while “C Sharp Waltz” takes on a blues flavor.

“What I did was rework the melodies into jazz styles, blues or swing, and reworked the melodies rhythmically and gave them more chords or harmonic chords you hear in blues or swing tunes, rather than classical,” Kowalewski said. “You can hear the melodies in a new light.”

According to Kowalewski, the concerts in the HCVA series were well received.

“People were ecstatic, they just loved the music,” said Kowalewski, who also provides a little background about the music between songs. “This is an audience friendly way of presenting jazz and classical music and it’s fun also.”

FYI

The Swingin’ Chopin jazz band performs selections from its CD “Chopin Jazz” on Sunday at Club 54, 37722 Van Dyke Ave. in Sterling Heights, 586-795-0054, www.nightclub54.com. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the all-ages performance starts promptly at 6 p.m. Admission is $2. Club 54 also serves American and Polish food. For more information on Swingin’ Chopin, click www.reverbnation.com/swinginchopin. The CD “Chopin Jazz”will be available at the release or by going towww.cdbaby.com/swinginchopin.

Joe Ballor is associate editor of the Daily Tribune. Contact him at 586-783-0250 or Joe.Ballor@dailytribune.com. Check out his Detroit blues music blog, JB Blues, at jbblues.blogpsot.com.